Graham Ashton- Definitive Trumpet Mouthpieces™
ROTARY Models

The ‘R’ range of mouthpieces were designed by Graham Ashton for a performance in Leipzig in 2006, when he was invited to play principal trumpet in Strauß' ‘Alpine Symphony’ with musicians from the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

The rim and cup is identical to the regular Nos.1,2 & 3. The radical differences are in the throat, backbore & taper. The overall length of the shank is also slightly shorter. All these differences were carefully worked out to help the mouthpieces work more efficiently with the shorter leadpipe of the rotary trumpet. For those players who play their rotary trumpets only occasionally, the ‘R’ range will inspire you to play them more often!

The No.1R produces a very dark sound on the rotary trumpet. Like the regular No.1 mouthpiece, it has a superb low register. Also like the regular No.1, the rim is very comfortable and the cup ‘roomy’. Great for Bruckner and Wagner, the 1R has a distinct core to the sound when you open up, and never gets edgy.

The No.2R prototype was tested on rotary C and Bb trumpets of Kühn, Lechner, Schargel, Yamaha and Ganther. This is the mouthpiece Graham used on ‘Alpine Symphony’. It has an incredible high register with a superb top D that slots. The sound is vibrant, and soloistic. It really has a quality of sound that gets you noticed. You can hear an mp3 on Dave Houser's website, of Graham Ashton playing this mouthpiece on a Ricco Kühn rotary C trumpet, in a live recording of ‘Alpine Symphony’ from the Leipzig Gewandhaus in February 2006.

As with the regular No.3, the No.3R is a smaller version of the No.2R with proportional adjustments. It has all the same qualities as the No.2R, but is for the player who prefers a smaller rim size. This is the mouthpiece Ray Vega uses when he plays his rotary trumpet on jazz gigs.